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“You found something?”
“I hope so. I went to a yard sale. The woman was a recent widow, and she was selling her husband’s things, including the stuff for his hobby—which was candle making. I got a hundred pounds of wax, all sorts of molds, wicks, dyes, scents, cooking pots—everything we need, including instruction booklets, where to order supplies—”
“Candles…”
Sandy frowned. “Not good?”
Stormy grinned. “Are you kidding? It’s super! I can see the display now. Candles flickering. Cinnamon in the air.”
“We have to make them first,” Sandy reminded her.
“We will. You want to hold down the fort a minute? I’m going to the office to get our name on the list for a bigger stall.” She pointed out a ceramics merchant who had built display shelves. The man’s van was backed right up to his stall on the parking verge for easy access for loading and unloading. “We need something like that.”
When she returned twenty minutes later, Stormy was waving a receipt. “I got us one. At the end of this aisle, too. It’ll be available in two weeks. That’ll give us time to make some candles.”
“I’ve sold ten bears in the few minutes you were gone,” Sandy said, stunned. “I love doing this. Maybe I could help you tomorrow? This is exciting.”
“I’m not planning to open tomorrow. I want to spend Easter with Liane. It’s our first holiday together since I—” She looked at Ned and Terry Jean. “Well… you know.”
“Let me open for you,” Sandy pleaded. “I could do it. We don’t want to lose momentum, do we? And it’ll give me something to do besides feel lonesome and sorry for myself. Unless…you don’t trust me. I would understand.”
Stormy looked aghast. “Of course, I trust you. I was just surprised. I can use the help anytime you want to work the stand.”
They were interrupted by customers, but once the sales were made, Sandy continued, “You know, on the weekends that I don’t have the kids, or even some weekends I do, I could work. I think they would enjoy it. It’s different.”
“Okay,” Stormy said, deciding on the spot. “You’re on.”
“The only thing is when I work it by myself, I ought to get twenty-five percent of net profits, don’t you think?”
“What I think is you learn darned fast,” Stormy said, instantly agreeing to Sandy’s proposal.
“I’m an apprentice with a good teacher,” the other woman replied, her eyes glowing.
Embarrassed by the praise, Stormy began to rearrange the table. “All this success could just be a stroke of luck, you know. There will be down days.”
Sandy paled. “You’re not trying to talk me out of doing this? You regret taking me on?”
“Not a bit!” Stormy reassured her. “It’s just that nothing is a sure thing.”
“Well, if it falls apart, I’ll still be that much further ahead, and I’ll have learned something. I hate to leave, but I promised the kids. I don’t have to have them back until nine, so I’ll see you again at Noreen’s?”
Stormy nodded. “I’m picking up Liane at about six.”
Sandy beamed. “That will work great. We can unload allourstock from your car to mine, so I can be here bright and early tomorrow.”
“Please,Mom. Pretty please with sugar on it. Let me spend the night. Janelle wants me to, and Mrs. Byers said it’s okay with her if it’s okay with you.”
“Uh-uh, you little scamp,” put in Noreen. “Leave me out of this. What I said was…you’re always welcome.”
“Including tonight, right?” Liane said.
Noreen shrugged helplessly. “Kids are born monocrats,” she said to Stormy. “They get absolute power over us the minute they’re born by looking so cute and innocent and helpless. By the time we catch on to their tyranny, it’s too late.”
“Tomorrow is Easter,” Stormy said. “It’s our first holiday together in a long while.”
“You can come and get me early in the morning. Just don’t let Davie and Tommy get into my Easter basket. And look, here are all the eggs I dyed for them. Please, Mom. While you were in jail, I never got to do any fun stuff.”
“See what I mean?” Noreen said sotto voce.
